Centre for Compassionate Conservation, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia.
Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Sci Data. 2021 Jan 20;8(1):17. doi: 10.1038/s41597-020-00788-5.
Prehistoric and recent extinctions of large-bodied terrestrial herbivores had significant and lasting impacts on Earth's ecosystems due to the loss of their distinct trait combinations. The world's surviving large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores remain among the most threatened taxa. As such, a greater understanding of the ecological impacts of large herbivore losses is increasingly important. However, comprehensive and ecologically-relevant trait datasets for extinct and extant herbivores are lacking. Here, we present HerbiTraits, a comprehensive functional trait dataset for all late Quaternary terrestrial avian and mammalian herbivores ≥10 kg (545 species). HerbiTraits includes key traits that influence how herbivores interact with ecosystems, namely body mass, diet, fermentation type, habitat use, and limb morphology. Trait data were compiled from 557 sources and comprise the best available knowledge on late Quaternary large-bodied herbivores. HerbiTraits provides a tool for the analysis of herbivore functional diversity both past and present and its effects on Earth's ecosystems.
大型陆地草食动物的史前和近代灭绝对地球生态系统造成了重大而持久的影响，因为它们独特的特征组合消失了。世界上现存的大型鸟类和哺乳动物草食动物仍然是受威胁最大的类群之一。因此，越来越需要更深入地了解大型食草动物丧失对生态系统的影响。然而，缺乏针对已灭绝和现存草食动物的综合且具有生态相关性的特征数据集。在这里，我们提出了 HerbiTraits，这是一个包含所有晚第四纪 ≥10 公斤（545 种）陆地鸟类和哺乳动物草食动物的综合功能特征数据集。HerbiTraits 包含了影响草食动物与生态系统相互作用的关键特征，即体重、饮食、发酵类型、栖息地利用和肢体形态。特征数据来自 557 个来源，包含了有关晚第四纪大型草食动物的最佳现有知识。HerbiTraits 为分析过去和现在的食草动物功能多样性及其对地球生态系统的影响提供了工具。
